Due to difficult economic conditions and, as a result, a serious decrease in the real financial income of citizens, the Government of the Russian Federation approved a program to assist mortgage borrowers in 2020, which continued to operate in 2020 and will continue to operate in 2020.
The program is implemented through JSC Housing Mortgage Lending, which undertakes to compensate for financial losses that threaten credit institutions when mortgage lending conditions are relaxed. In fact, the financial support for this program is borne by the state, since one hundred percent of the shares of AHML JSC belong to the Government of the Russian Federation.
According to the authors of the program, the financial influence that AHML will have on the mortgage market will help debtors pay off all debts for the purchase of housing, and banks will receive all the planned profit from issuing loans.
Conventionally, the program to help mortgage borrowers can be divided into two parts. The first part is to provide preferential lending conditions to potential clients who are just about to purchase a home. These are social and military mortgages.
What is AHML?
Often, to obtain a mortgage, a person turns to various private organizations and is not aware of the lending agency. In a regular bank, the state owns only part of the deposits, while in AHML, 100% of the shares are owned by the state.
With this program, the state is trying to simplify the procedure for obtaining a mortgage for low-income families.
The agency most often engages in two types of activities:
- Issues mortgages without intermediaries represented by a bank;
- Buys mortgages from the bank.
At the same time, even if you initially took out a loan from a bank, it may turn out that AHML took over your loan - and now you are paying off the debt to the agency. It is important to note that the contract does not change along with this.
How does AHML work?
Risk prevention in the mortgage environment
They promote increased security for borrowers (debt insurance, which in the future can reduce interest rates when taking out a mortgage)
Issuance of loans to the population
AHML standards have been developed, maximally adapted for Russian residents, and various programs have been created
There are several AHML standards in accordance with which you receive a loan:
- The basic one - considered by the agency's council - must contain the basic provisions for lending: the currency in which the apartment is purchased, data about the person, data about the loan;
- Technological – this item is considered by the management of AHML;
- Toolkit - signed by the manager.
Such standards were created to improve the safety of citizens of the Russian Federation, to provide money to everyone, and also to advertise AHML among the population.
The standards spell out the rules of interaction between participants in transactions.
Assistance program for mortgage borrowers in 2020
Clients of Russian banks who have already received targeted housing loans or are still considering the possibility of obtaining them are often interested in what exactly the program for helping mortgage borrowers is. It is no secret that it is mortgages that actively contribute to the real solution to the problem of providing housing for citizens of the Russian Federation. Of course, this option for financing the purchase of living space has both positive and negative sides. However, without its use, many families, especially young ones, would not be able to purchase their own apartments.
If the borrower's share (part) of the property in another residential area exceeds 50%, his application will be rejected, but, as an option, the applicant can simply re-register this property in the name of one of his relatives. In addition, you should know that from August 11, 2020, all controversial issues related to apartment areas and deviations from the program parameters are resolved by a special interdepartmental commission.
Conditions for providing support
The state program comes into force only by mutual agreement of the parties. The borrower himself acts as the initiator, submitting a corresponding application. The procedure is regulated by government decree No. 373 of April 20, 2020, when the project began to help borrowers pay off mortgages for housing if they found themselves in a difficult financial situation through no fault of their own. At the same time, this function was assigned to AHML.
Conditions for participation in the program:
- Mandatory membership in the categories of citizens listed in the previous section;
- The decrease in average income over the last three months is more than thirty percent compared to what the borrower had at the time of concluding the agreement with the bank;
- An increase in the monthly payment by thirty percent or more if the mortgage was taken out in dollars, the exchange rate of which has increased significantly;
- The average family income over the last three months is less than two subsistence minimums;
- The area of housing purchased with a mortgage is no more than 45 sq.m. for one room, 65 sq.m. for a two-room apartment and no more than 85 sq.m. for a three-room apartment;
- The living space purchased on credit is the only residential property owned by the family;
- The mortgage agreement was concluded more than a year ago.
Conditions for participation in the program
You can apply for state support only if you meet one of the main conditions, which is often not taken into account by debtors - the mortgage loan must be issued at least a year ago. If the loan was taken out just a few months ago, you should not count on debt restructuring. All efforts of the state are not aimed at freeing the borrower from loan obligations. Support only reduces payments to an acceptable level, leaving the citizen with an amount that he can repay on his own.
You can count on financial assistance only once. Moreover, if the application is rejected due to insufficient grounds, the citizen can appeal to a special interdepartmental commission. It was approved in 2020 and allows for a more individual approach to considering situations. The commission can not only decide on the need for assistance on a previously rejected application, but also increase the amount of compensation by any number of units, up to 100%.
Main activities and tasks
The program of the institution in question works like this: first, banks issue loans using their own resources, then, by refinancing the mortgage through AHML, they restore costs.
They are responsible for the conscientious fulfillment of the borrower's financial obligations.
The main activities of AHML include:
- restructuring of mortgage loans;
- providing loans to financial institutions for housing construction loans;
- acquisition of investment securities;
- development of the rental housing market.
In practice, the work of the institution in question is as follows:
- development of mortgage programs;
- registration of contracts with banks;
- consulting services for potential clients;
- mortgage redemption from the budget.
The agency for residential mortgage lending uses a two-tier financing system that operates throughout Russia and allows risks to be evenly distributed between market participants.
The first level includes banks and organizations that are primary creditors, the second - AHML.
The priority tasks of the institution in question should be considered:
- Designing innovative products aimed at increasing the availability of housing with a mortgage.
- Creation of new services that distribute risks between the borrower and the lender.
- Developing quality standards to simplify work.
- Amendments to legislation regarding the protection of creditors' rights when creating a maneuver fund or issuing securities.
- Introduction of improved refinancing instruments.
- Finding new ways to attract resources.
- Taking measures to avoid the emergence of risks in the field of mortgage lending.
The mortgage lending agency works together with partners, which may be:
- regional operators;
- service agents;
- Insurance companies;
- financial institutions.
The agency's activities in residential mortgage lending are beneficial for all parties to the transaction.
Banks are increasing their range of products and receiving additional profits, AHML is expanding its network of representative offices without their own offices, and borrowers are solving housing problems.
Government Decree 2020 Assistance Program for Mortgage Borrowers House of the Russian Federation
For example, in 2020 Sberbank offers excellent conditions for restructuring or refinancing a mortgage loan. In this case, the new loan is provided on more favorable terms and fully covers the previous mortgage. The reduction in payment occurs due to a decrease in the interest rate and/or an increase in the total loan term.
- The existing mortgage loan is subject to restructuring at the same or another bank. Moreover, the new rate should be no more than 11.5% per annum. In addition, the total repayment term can be extended, resulting in a lower monthly payment.
- Part of the remaining debt is compensated from the budget (maximum 30%). Moreover, on the day of provision of assistance, the total debt should not exceed 1.5 million rubles.
Advantages of an AHML mortgage
- Minimum down payment – 10%
- Low interest rates – from 7.9% per annum in rubles
- The maximum loan term is 30 years.
- Additional opportunities to reduce interest rates.
- Possibility to obtain a loan in any region of the country according to the same standards
- No moratorium or penalties for early repayment
- Reliable protection of the borrower's interests
You can choose a mortgage program yourself by reading the descriptions of all products, or use the mortgage selection assistant. If you are a military personnel, there is a special program for you - “Military Mortgage"
Help format
The final result of government assistance is expressed in monetary terms, but which format will be chosen in each specific case depends on many circumstances. There are two main ways to reduce your monthly payments:
- Reducing the borrower's debt obligations.
- Converting a foreign currency loan into ruble equivalent.
The choice of option depends, first of all, on the initial data of the loan taken.
The state support program was developed after the economic crisis significantly weakened the financial capabilities of payers. A few years ago, mortgages were issued at variable rates, since this aspect was not regulated by the state. This procedure well protects the credit institution itself from loss of profit, but for the borrower it can become a debt trap, which is what actually happened to many payers.
Difficult circumstances and the fact that the income level of a large number of citizens has seriously fallen, had a negative impact primarily on their solvency.
Reducing the borrower's obligations
The borrower's obligations are reduced according to a certain scheme. The first thing the financial institution decides is how much to compensate the applicant. There is no established minimum size in this case, but there is a maximum. Often 20-30% of the total balance owed on the mortgage is reimbursed. It is stipulated that the amount of state support should not exceed one and a half million rubles.
The following categories of citizens will be able to repay 30% of the debt:
- The family has two minor children.
- Disability has been established.
- Parents are raising a disabled child.
- The applicant is a combat veteran.
Families with one child can receive only 20% of the remaining mortgage debt
Please note that an exception may be made to this rule if the interdepartmental commission decides that a large amount of debt must be paid
It is important to determine not only how much money will be compensated from budget funds, but also how it is provided. There are two options for assistance:
- The entire agreed amount is written off from the debt balance, after which the amount of monthly payments is recalculated.
- The provided amount of money is divided into parts, each of which will be used to compensate for the monthly payment. In this case there are two significant limitations. Firstly, you can compensate no more than 50% of the monthly contribution. And secondly, the duration of such payment should not exceed 18 months.
Which option to choose is decided between the borrower and the lender, but the prerogative is given to the citizen, because the financial organization loses nothing in either case.
Replacing foreign currency mortgages with ruble ones
Many mortgage borrowers found themselves in the unpleasant situation of financial collapse precisely because at one time they took out a loan in foreign currency. Long-term stability in the foreign exchange market weakened the vigilance of citizens, and it began to seem that nothing would shake the current situation. The amount of mortgage loans taken due to the jump in the exchange rate increased several times. And given the interest rate applied to them, repayment of dues has become simply unrealistic.
The state support program allows citizens who have taken out a mortgage in foreign currency to convert the loan into the ruble equivalent.
The restructuring of such loans is carried out not at the established rate, but according to the laws adopted today. The interest rate applied to the ruble equivalent should not exceed that provided by the bank today for issuing mortgage programs. The rate can be increased only in one case, if the borrower has violated the established insurance rules provided for in the loan agreement.
Duration of the program
The duration of the AHML program at Sberbank has been determined - restructuring can be obtained only until the end of 2020. Whether the program will be extended further depends entirely on the intentions of the Government.
The bank cannot provide fewer benefits than those provided by the state, since its costs are financed by the state. However, Sberbank is ready to offer even more favorable conditions to loyal customers with a good credit history. Which ones exactly will be decided during negotiations.
In addition, Sberbank is ready to provide restructuring not only for mortgages, but also for car loans and regular consumer loans. However, in these cases one cannot count on government help; this is solely an initiative of Sberbank.
One more important point: despite the fact that the mortgage assistance program is being implemented by AHML, you need to contact Sberbank itself to review the terms of the agreement.
Procedure
To receive government financial support to repay part of the remaining mortgage loan, the borrower will need to go through a step-by-step procedure. It consists of the following steps:
- A package of documents is submitted to the credit institution that issued the mortgage loan.
- The bank reviews the submitted application and issues its verdict.
- If the decision is positive, the applicant moves on to the next step, and if the decision is negative, he can contact the interdepartmental commission for a more detailed consideration of the circumstances and a more individual response.
- A new loan agreement is concluded or an additional agreement is prepared to an existing form.
First, the bank repays the difference from its own funds, but then the entire specified amount is compensated by AHML
Contacting the bank
Many borrowers complain that the bank refuses to restructure their mortgage loan, not wanting to consider documents for receiving government support. It should be taken into account that not all credit institutions are included in the AHML list, which complicates the possibility of cooperation. If the refusal is the initiative of the bank, then you can safely submit an application to the interdepartmental commission, since such actions are considered unlawful.
A borrower who, in his own opinion, meets the established requirements and conditions of state support is required to fill out an application form. This form is confirmed by the collected documents and submitted to the creditor for examination and a final verdict.
A positive decision results in a revision of previously established payment amounts. Before signing new agreements with the bank, you should decide on the method of compensation - one-time or in installments to pay off monthly payments.
Contacting AHML
The entire registration procedure is carried out in close cooperation between the bank and AHML. If the process follows a standard path, then the citizen will not have to apply to AHML on his own; this will be handled by the lender. The bank submits the already reviewed documents to the agency, which, based on them, transfers the agreed amount of compensation to the financial organization.
If the creditor rejected the application for debt restructuring or decided to compensate only a small part of it, which, in the opinion of the property owner himself, is unjustified, a commission review of the situation can be initiated. In some cases, the commission may decide to pay 100% of the debt, but for this purpose the reasons must be very compelling.
Where to contact
To participate in the program, the borrower must follow the following algorithm:
- check with the lender whether it participates in the program;
- collect a package of documents and submit to the bank;
- wait for a decision on the application.
It is worth noting that not all financial institutions have entered into an agreement with DOM.RF. To find out the current list of partner banks of the program, visit the operator’s website. Now these are: Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank, FC Otkritie, Rosselkhozbank, UniCredit Bank, Moscow Credit Bank, Rosbank.
These lenders are ready to restructure the debt of mortgage borrowers under the state program. As you can see, the list includes major players: Sberbank and VTB. This means that the majority of Russian mortgage borrowers have a chance to participate in the program.
Ways to restructure mortgage debt
Loan restructuring involves revising the terms of the loan agreement and approving new provisions. According to Resolution No. 961, the borrower can count on the following types of assistance:
- writing off part of the loan within the established framework through forgiveness;
- conversion of foreign currency into national currency at the current Central Bank exchange rate at the time of restructuring;
- reducing the loan rate to a level of no more than 11.5% for foreign currency and revising the rate for a ruble loan in accordance with the Central Bank figures at the time of signing the revised agreement;
- writing off the accrued penalty, provided that a court decision has not yet been made in relation to the accrued sanctions.
AHML House of the Russian Federation on lkz.ahml.ru: login to your personal account
To work with a mortgage loan, you cannot do without authorization on Dom.rf. For this purpose, you need to go to the official website located at https://dom.rf. On the main page that appears, you need to click on the login button in the upper right corner. It is also possible to go directly to the authorization page using the URL https://lkz.ahml.ru. The system will instantly redirect you to log in to the system, where you will need to enter your individual login and password. After correctly specifying the input details, you will need to use the “Login” button.
The following functionality is available in the borrower’s personal account located on the Dom.rf portal:
- current information regarding the client loan agreement
- account status, payment plan
- early repayment
- ordering a certificate from the Pension Fund or the Tax Department
- clarification of payment details
- generating a receipt for the next payment according to the plan
- information about the insurance contract
- possibility of feedback with agency employees
When logging in for the first time, the previously generated password will need to be changed to a permanent one for security purposes. When creating a password, you should not use registration data used in social networks and any simple combinations.
May be interesting: Energotransbank personal account
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How to apply?
The internal rules of VTB 24 do not provide for a separate mortgage restructuring program, but you can apply for it through the bank’s official website. Once you visit the website, you need to select the refinancing tab.
And not restructuring, but refinancing, since both programs follow the same goal - restoring the debtor’s financial position and returning its solvency.
Next, an electronic questionnaire will appear before the client’s eyes, the fields of which will need to be filled out:
- Last name, first name, patronymic of the borrower, date of birth, place of permanent residence, passport details and contact information;
- Details of the restructured loan (type - mortgage), amount of the down payment and date of receipt of the loan;
- Documents confirming income;
- Employment or lack thereof.
After filling out and sending the application, it will be considered in the general manner, after which the applicant will be called back at the number specified by him or written by email. It is important to take into account that the service will be provided to the borrower only if he has all the required documents.
You can also submit a handwritten or printed application in two copies on white A4 paper, a sample of which is located at the stand at the branch of the financial institution.
Drawing up an application yourself
Many clients prefer to submit an application for restructuring of mortgage debt, drawing it up in any form. This is not prohibited, but you should not load the text of the document with redundant small details.
Even a free application form is drawn up at a bank branch. The text indicates the prevailing circumstances due to which the borrower needed restructuring and solvency decreased.
In order for such a petition to be approved, it is important to indicate really compelling reasons, without emotional overtones, only facts supported by documents. The debtor's credit history must be impeccable and there must be no previous delinquencies.
So, if during the last three months the borrower has not made monthly payments and interest, he will most likely be denied restructuring. However, no one forbids you to try, besides, filing an application is free, and the bank is more interested in the money than in the mortgaged property.
The structure of the application must contain details of the institution to which it is submitted, the name of the document, information about the loan agreement with the terms of the mortgage and the date of the agreement, the grounds for the application, the date of the first delay, and a specific request regarding the option to change the terms of the agreement.
If a refusal is received
Even if, after submitting an application and documents for mortgage restructuring through VTB 24, a refusal was received, you should not immediately panic. This only means that we need to look for other ways to solve the problem. In particular, you should not discard the option of going to court.
However, before this you need to find out the reason for the refusal from the bank. It is likely that it will be completely removable and the request can be submitted again. If everything is done correctly, taking into account the shortcomings of the last time, VTB 24 may approve the request.
If, even after correction, a refusal is received, there are two options:
- Ask for refinancing (on-lending). Apply for another loan to pay off debt in another banking institution, which is possible in many banks even without leaving home, via the Internet;
- Try to get a new loan without refinancing if the balance is not too high.
The best option in a difficult financial situation is government assistance in the form of benefits in the amount of up to six hundred thousand rubles to repay part of the debt. In this case, this means easing the financial burden, reducing the interest rate, and the possibility of deferment for six months.
What else is important to know: Alfa Bank Samara: mortgage, types, conditions, requirements, advice to borrowers